Re Post #144. The aircraft is a B-17E (note the frames on the nose glazing), and the Perspex is not damaged. This appears to be the work of the censor, obliterating the Norden bombsight from the print.
Crew of 92nd Bomb Group loading bombs on B-17F 41-9148 "Boomerang"
Seen plenty of Lancs, Stirlings and Halifaxes being bombed up, but what caught my eye here was the nose plexi-glass damage. This fortress wouldnt have taken off with damage like that surely?......View attachment 511223
It would not have taken off with the reflected damage. Temporary repair would have been maid. On one of my mission patches had been applied to 8 or 10 shrapnel hole damage received the day before. Maintenance was excellent.
B-17F-105-BO No 42-30455. at Alconbury . Senior Pilots pose in front of a 325th Bomb Squadron Boeing B-17F-105-BO, AAF Serial No. 42-30455, after a successful mission to Hülser Berg Germany in late June 1943. Equipped with radar, this aircraft flew several missions as the lead aircraft of the group. Unfortunately, this aircraft went down in North Sea 16 November 1943 while returning from Norway after being transferred to the 390th BG/569th BS at RAF Framlingham in Suffolk. 10 crew MIA. MACR 1400
Yank in British colours - a B17 Flying Fortress II A of 220 Costal Command Sqn. seen flying past a Hebridiean island on return to its base at Benbecula during May 1943.
B-17 carrying a pair of Republic-Ford JB-2 LoonWith a maximum range of 150 miles, the Loon was launched at a minimum speed of 220 m.p.h. and climbed at a rate of 500 to 1,000 feet per minute to the altitude set on its altimeter. The optimum altitude in flight was between 2,000 and 4,000 feet, and the optimum speed in flight 400 m.p.h.